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A Church, a House and a Home

Things have been a little crazy around here the last week or so. Ok, who am I kidding, things are ALWAYS crazy around here.

But house things have been buzzing this week, or should I say 'church' things? On Halloween night my father-in-law showed me an awesome find in a farm newspaper. It is an amaaaazing church for sale; dirt cheap. The only catch is that it is nearly two hundred miles from where we live.

It didn't deter me, seriously it takes a lot to deter me! With the help of my sister, we found the church's pictures online bright and early on Thursday morning and so the phone calls began...

I left voicemails on each of the phone numbers listed and even e-mailed the address that I scrounged up on the Internet. A looooong day proceeded waiting to hear a reply. When the phone rang, I nearly threw the baby 'Hail Mary' style to my husband.

A short conversation later with the owner and I had learned that the church was built in 1889 and had been empty for ten years. So a quick call to my contractor that is currently working on new house plans for me and he agreed to look at the church for me. I emailed him the pictures.

Then I proceeded to not sleep for the next 48 hours while I dreamed up every remodel, renovation, floor plan know to man. It turns out my Mother was doing the same thing as she informed me the next time I talked to her, "Thanks a lot! I wasn't able to sleep at all! I stayed up all night, thinking how we could make this church work for you." I love you Mom :)

The 'great church debate' opened a flood gate of discussion between the Hubs and I. Is this something we wanted? Is this something we could do? How much would it cost? Are we crazy?

Five days later, we had a breakthrough. The Hubs came in and sat down and we TALKED.

All along I have desired an old house to remodel. I love the feel, the ambiance, the character, everything. And this church with its age, combined with the incredible character and unbelievably beautiful stained glass windows could be a dream home. But it wasn't going to be OUR dream home.

In all my research and time spent looking into every conceivable option, I have come to accept the fact that for our family, and our circumstances and our needs, I have to do what is right for our family. And for us, right now it makes the most sense to build our dream home from scratch.

We can make it our own. We will add our own character (however quirky that may be) and with time it will gain patina and age. Our memories and everyday moments will give our new build the lived in feeling I have always imagined. We will build a home for our family. We will build it with love and strength and it will be not just a house but a home. That has been my dream all along. A home.

The contractor is coming this Wednesday with the initial floor plans. I am so excited and can't wait to share with you all what I learn! I am so excited to take this next step forward for my little family.

Have you ever been given a great opportunity and realized it just didn't quite fit for you? As always, I'd love to hear from you!

P.S. Check out this blog which features some incredible church conversions! Here's a little sneak peak...

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I am a creative, a dreamer and an encourager. I am married to a hard working farmer and am a Mom to four perfectly wild, loud, tiny humans with vastly different personalities. I have a heart for cooking, home improvement projects, old houses and encouraging people. I am honest and imperfect and very glad you are here!